The newspaper reports that partnerships such as U.S. Ignite, a group backed by the National Science Foundation, “are leading the way to connect communities with researchers and designers creating high-bandwidth software in fields like education, public safety and health care.”

While cable executives “say there aren't enough applications requiring gigabit-a-second speeds, many of these groups disagree,” according to The Journal. “They argue, for example, that high speeds could support more-sophisticated severe-weather alert systems and allow high-quality, virtual doctor-patient consultations on a large scale.”

One example of this type of need cited by The Journal is in Northeast Ohio, where a gigabit fiber network built by Case Western Reserve University and the nonprofit OneCommunity already serves hundreds of homes and businesses.

Warren Selman, a Case Western Reserve neurosurgeon, recently founded Surgical Theater, which “has developed software to let doctors practice on 3-D images of their patients' brains while being supervised remotely by other surgeons,” The Journal reports.

Several hospitals have contacted Surgical Theater to buy the program, “but it requires a near-gigabit Internet speed to work,” according to the story.

Keeping SCORE

Volunteers at the Akron operations of business counseling group SCORE — the Service Corps of Retired Executives — have been keeping very busy.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that SCORE had its most successful year in history during fiscal 2011-2012 for its free services to small businesses in the Summit, Medina, Portage and Wayne county areas.

“Our growth in service to our four-county area increased substantially even with last year's down economy,” said Tom Duke, Akron SCORE chairman, in a statement. “We believe that this was because many citizens who lost their jobs decided to start their own businesses. This is one reason why the only growth area in our economy has been small businesses.”

For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Akron SCORE said its face-to-face and email counseling rose 7% to 1,134 sessions; workshops rose 8% to 85; and workshop attendance was up 7.5% to 1,600, according to the story.

I've never run a small business — or any type of business for that matter — so maybe I'm just missing something, but I don't understand the sentiment expressed by Case Western Reserve University entrepreneurship professor Scott Shane in this Associated Press story about small businesses' expectations for 2013.

The new year, the AP says, is hard to gauge because it's filled with “a lot of uncertainty,” as it's “unlikely that negotiations in Congress will resolve all of lawmakers' disagreements over tax and budget issues that affect small businesses. And there are still many questions about the implications of the health care law for small companies.”

Prof. Shane, who teaches at Case Western Reserve's Weatherhead School of Management, tells the AP, “Uncertainty is the bane of every small business. Their only rational response is to pull in their horns and slow down."

Fair enough; knowing what's ahead makes it easier to plan for business expenses than not knowing what to expect.

But is uncertainty really the “bane” of small business owners? If you want certainty, why would you own a small business in the first place? It's hard work and hugely risky. People who want to minimize uncertainty in their business life should be working for a steady paycheck rather than becoming entrepreneurs.

Looking to the future

Geauga County investor Toby Maloney passes along word that he and his wife, Melanie, who ran the business operations of Mental Floss, left the magazine at the end of December.

In an email, Mr. Maloney said the company ran out of space here and, after an extensive search, wound up moving fulfillment operations to Bolingbrook, Ill. Mental Floss also closed its retail store in Chesterland on Dec. 28.

“We've had a ball for the past 10-plus years helping a dorm room idea grow into a multimillion-dollar business,” Mr. Maloney writes. (The magazine was sold in March 2011 to British-born magazine publisher Felix Dennis, the man behind the highly successful U.S. version of The Week.)

“We think we'll be idle for about 5 minutes as we've already started to look at some opportunities for becoming angel investors, etc. for Cleveland-based startups/companies,” Mr. Maloney adds. “It would be great if we could create some jobs and wealth here in Northeast Ohio.”